Last Thursday night's debate for the position of mayor of the Village of Great Neck, moderated by Betsy Grody, a League of Women Voters member from another district, began by an introduction of the candidates who led off with opening statements. Richard Deem, who won the toss of the coin, began by stating that he decided to run because he believes that Mr. Falk, as mayor, has Úquot;created an atmosphere of rancor and division during already troubled times, when you think we'd want to try harder to pull together... there has been a shocking deterioration of respect and civility shown by the incumbent over the past few years at our public meetings. Residents have been insulted, disrespected, interrupted or ignored at public meetings, and as a result many have stopped trying to participate.Úquot; He said he sees this style of leadership as damaging to democratic principles. He went on to add that Mr. Falk's commitment to development plans for apartment complexes involving more than 350 new units is likely to Úquot;damage the quality of life we value so much in our village.Úquot; He believes that under Mr. Falk, construction interests have frequently outweighed the public interest. FULL STORY

Just recently sworn in for her third term on the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, Great Neck's Lee Seeman is deep into a new project involving Estonia. And she is looking for both financial contributions to her project, as well as information on Estonians who lived through World War II. FULL STORY

As the winter season came to a close just a few months ago, the boys and girls, about to continue their athletics pursuits on the Spring Track team, were excited and anxious to begin. The boys would be returning to their coaches Adam McKenzie and Brian Pike who have helped them improve tremendously in the past, but the girls were faced with quite a different situation: a new coach. FULL STORY

Congratulations are in order to the Great Neck South Middle School wrestling team for completing a winning season this winter. This is a remarkable achievement considering the team is only in its second year of existence. Former wrestlers Paul Sasso and Mehdi Tavakolian, under the tutelage of Coach Godfreed, coached the wrestlers in the basics of wrestling, advancing them rapidly through rigorous training, discipline and commitment. FULL STORY